Stack front clamping system for automatic cutting machines



Jam 19, 1965 Y c. THUMlM 3,165,960

STACK FRONT CLAMPINC SYSTEM FCR AUTOMATIC CUTTING MACHINES Original Filed Nov. 7, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l C. THUMIM STACK FRONT CLAMPING SYSTEM FOR AUTOMATIC CUTTING MACHINES Original Filed NOV. 7, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A INVENTOR. v .CARL f/c/M/M BY JTeoLe/vk, P29541?, $514' i Toffs@ This invention relates generally to automatic ,cutting machines, and more particularly to novel advantageous vclamping mechanism associated with a reciprocal knife assembly for executing transverse cuts on a stack of paper sheets fed therethrough intermittently. This patent application is a division of my copending case Serial No.

,620,928 filed on November 7, 1956, now PatentV No.

3,033,067 and assigned, tothe assignee hereof.

In a cutting machine of the type herein, a stack of paper sheets is supported on a horizontal table. A reciprocable knife blade is provided atthe front end vof 'the' machine to execute transverse cuts on the paper stack in a predetermined manner. Reference is made to Patent No. 2,570,873 as typical of such type of machine. The novel clamp hereof holds the paper stack intact. VIt is arranged adjacent the knife blade, tok act' upon the stack as it is being transversely cut. A back gauge is provided at the rear end of the stack, movabletowards the front,

along the table on which the stackis supported. The back gaugeis moved-in a predetermined manner to push 'the stack'forwardbetween cutting operations ofthe knife. lA y start-stop program' device is generally related with the.

back gauge toautomatically start its movement and stop it at predetermined positions during the Acutting-Ycyclesof' the knife assembly. s It has been found` in the its vertical alignment necessary to provide accurate transoperation of cutting machinesv thatV .the` stack ofgsheets' o'fte'nshifts or otherwise distorts Verse cutting of each sheet along predetermined positionsf Y It is t'obe Aunderstood that when a cutting-machine is used to lsever pages of a.book printed multiplyon a long sheet l' (or'adver'tising matters; oresoapY wrappersQetc.) it` is nec@ V "i essaryto sever the individually-'printed units at their-'exact Y pr edeter'rrri'nedborders. Also, wliei'eprintingframes effect small-iainprinted areasfbetween the printed wrappers or cleanly'cut,accurately sized pages or wrappers, etc;` Sin'ce` identical multiple printed long Vvsheets are arranged in a despite any safety precautions. In an effort to maintain production output, operators often by-pass the safety devices and carelessly believe that `they can beat Vthe machine. Severed ngers have resulted in unfortunate instances.

It is an important object of the present invention; to provide full automaticity toa cutting'machine for stacks or piles of sheets whereby it is unnecessary for anl operator to adjust'the stack during the whole cutting program thereon.v Walking and other distortion ofthe piled sheets constituting the stack are eliminated by features of the'invention herein to be set forth inidetail hereinafter. Cutting of stacks of: sheets of the present invention is performed exactly as programmed on a start-stop basisV with no need for interruption of the program.` The result is v maximum production output without any hazardous inter-` ludes. v The knife clamping mechanism hereof is arranged close to and parallel with theknife bar of the transversefreciprocable cutting assembly. The knife clamp is pressed firmly onto the Vsheet stack just 4prior to thecutting oper-A ation, andv holds the `forward section of the stack intact'. The clamping system of the invention is preferably hydrauclamped region, and cut cleanly and true. 1

The aforesaid and further. features, advantages and objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following description; of an exemplary embodiment thereof, illustrated in the drawings, in Whichf- Y FIGURE l is a side elevational view of whole cutting machine embodying the in 'ention lfront knife clamp, with the Icentral portion of the' machine broken away.

"i .FIGURE 2`^is an endelevational view of the cutt' "g,

machineof FIGURE l at the front or feed-ou position.A FIGURE Sisan elevational view'of the exemplary frontj clamp assembly.

FIGURE`4 is aitop vview of the clamp assembly of FIGURE 3.'

pile or stack, the imprints` of the wrappers, pages, etc.'must the back gauge often causesithestack to walk, i.e., to distort. its Yvertical alignment'of identically printed mate;l

rial. In other words, the forward edge ofthe, stack shifts out of a vertical plane, into an angular'tplanen Itis read# VVily vapparent that -such walking or shifting lof the stack ofsheets will result in the lcuttingof intermediate sheets at erroneous positions. Thus,- nonfregistrationof cutting will result on sheets injthe stack; Consequently, it has readjus't the' alignment of the stackgatpractically. Vevery cutting.- Also, -the front clamp at the knife blade that heretofore held the front edge ofthe stack firmly during cutting also often distorted the stack alignment.

Repositioning of the stack by the operator manually, of course, slows down the overall. output or production by the machine. It is also hazardousfor'fan operator to adjust the stack at the knife or front end of themachine i irbefen the practice of operators'r of a cutting lmachine to`` in ',thefdirection ofthe arrows. A

- FIGURE 6 is an .end elevational vviewof y the clamp *assembly of FIGURE 3, fas seenfro'm the right end thereof. f

(FIGURES land 2 showthe side=and fro'nf end elevations;respectively,V ofthe cuttingrnachine. V-Thev lfront fend, asisfnormallytermed in such'comrner'cial machines, will be hereinY also termed the .feedout`p'osition, corre-` -sponding to theV position on the right end of the machine 1 seen in FGURE Landas'seenllin elevation inV FIGURE j 2.*,The front portion of thestack of sheetsyaft'erbeingj Main lcolumn serves also as an oil' reservoirforrthe,

hydraulic servocompone'nts ofthe machine. The work .Y

table ofthe machineisarranged 'at a Vsmall angle Vto the horizontal plane, thelleft side ofthe table as viewedfr-omf 'feed-out end of FIGURE 2 beingsystem 103 starts at tilted roller 104 adjacent the cuttingy l Fatented Jan. 19., 1965v FIGURES is a cross-sectional viewthrough the clam'pfr` assembly of FIGURE 3 taken along the line, 5 5, asseenj raised 'above `the. 'right' v,end, as shown in the parent case.

iA side gaugeV 102 is at tl'iferight` side of the Work table (FIGURE '2); thecorresponding vlongitudinal side of the stacks ofsheetsrests'gainst side gauge 102..` Side` gauge 15.92 is perpendicular tothetilted work table.l Aeonveyorf;`

, 3 position under knife assembly 165 and extends to horizontal roller 106. An idler roller 107 completes the circuit of the conveyor sheet 103.

A hood 11G is mounted above conveyor 103, covering up the external access to knife assembly 105 for safety purposes. Hood 11d is hinged at 111, providing a suitable protecting means with ready accessibility to the cutting position at the feed-out end of the machine. A frame 112 extends from the main column 100 and serves to support conveyor assembly 193.

The cutting knife assembly 165 is shown in dotted lines, within the machine,.in FIGURES 1 and 2. The general outline and correlation of the basic components of cutting mechanism 105 as seen Ain these iigures is as follows: The knife bar 115 is supported in suitable guides and carries the knife blade 116 at its lower cut-out section. Knife assembly 115, 116 is arranged at the' angle with horizontal to coact normally with the work bed and stack carried at the same angle. Knife blade` 116 is demountable from knife bar 115 for replacement or sharpening.

A front or knifey clamp 117 is arranged contiguous to and behind knife bar 115. Suitable control means are operated n clamp117 to press it down on the front sector of a stack lof sheets in the machine just prior to cutting by knife blade 116. The stack of sheets is held firmly adjacent the transverse cutting position wherein the reciprocable knife blade 116 effects thetransverse cut, as is v i understood by those `skilled in the art. A suitable torsion Vbar 118 and hydraulic cylinder 119 are associated with the clamp 117 for itsmotivation; as more fully'set forth hereinafter.; The exemplary knife assembly is in the class known as guillotine cutters.

. The back gauge 120 traverses the machine along its full 120 incorporates a vertical frame 121 that pushes the end of the stack of lsheets on the work table forward to cutting l blade 116. The back gauge` 120incorporates a series 0f fingers 122 of the back gauge clamp.L The ngers 122 of the back gauge' clamp are seenin ,progressionV in FIGURE...

lin view of the tilt of the back gauge .With the horizontal.

Their function is to press against the toplayerof the back",`

end of the stackV of sheets in the cutting machine and firmly grip .the whole, back endiof the stack or stacks thronghoutthe cyclesofrthe cutting program.'v ,I

It is thus practical to arrange the loading ofthe stacks operating length in the longitudinal direction. Back gauge 1 levers to connect the torque shaft or bar 118 to n 117 through theroilers 383, 383.

from the side of the machine at 125 (FIGURE l). This .i n

. is more efficient kin production as the 'stacks or piles tobe 'cut into book pages or "Wrappers, etc. are long, such asl 40 to 60'..` Thes'estacksare slid alongthe horizontal side table 126 and across to the work'bed ofthe ma-- chine all from 'the machine side 125.,` The operator` and the controls for the machine are arranged at side 125 forV y the progressl of the cutting program on theA sheets. Control panel l27fcontain's the start 128 and stop 129 control switches for operating theY pump of the hydraulic system.'

p Electrical panel 130 contains the switches for controlling` the operation ofthe back `gauge with control button 131 `for `the forwardfmovement,:control button 132 for the Similarly, there are two over-.riding controls for'the action l of knifefassernbly i1}5;electrical control 134 arrangedat the'left side of themachine andl control 135 at the right side of the operating position. Either one of these switches Y 134, 135 over-rides the automatic programming action of the knifefassembly 1135 whereby'the operatorcan actuate knife blade 116 into cuttingwhenever desired. Similarly,

a pedal for operating the Ihydraulic action ofV the aback* gauge'clarnp-is arranged at 136, andlpedal for operatorV actuation of the front clamp 117 at 13'7.`

A safety hood'140 is provided over Vthea/vork bed, theV Worklthereon, and the back gauge 120. Hood Y14d has a handle 141 to 'lift it out of the way when loading, un-

loading or otherwise by the operator. A safety switch (not shown) is actuated upon opening of hood 140, whereby all elements of the cutting machine are stopped from forward movement or actuation. This safety feature is important to the operator. A large panel of-glass or Plexiglas may be arranged in hood 146 which is otherwise of sheet metal.

The front clamp 117 is situated behind knife assembly 1615 and is operated by hydraulic cylinder 119 to press it down upon'the front portion of the stack of sheets to be cut by blade 116. FIGURES 3 to 6 are enlarged detailed illustrations of front clamp assembly 117. It is important to operate the base section 380 of the bottom of clamp 117 in a level relation with respect to the stack. The clamp 117 is mounted transversely across the Work bed ofthe cutting machine in a position to firmly clamp the stack of sheets to be cut by knife blade 116.

A torque bar 118 is provided with arms 381 to maintain the clamp 117 parallel with the stack to a predetermined high degree. With full pressure on hydraulic cylinder 119`to actuate clamp 117, and a narrow stack on only one side under the clamp base 380, the free side ofk clamp 117 can deflect only a small amount, say $56. of an Vinch with the invention system. In other words, the torque device of the present invention limits the amount of kunlevelling of the` clamp base 380ron'the stack or at the free side to only a small amount, as V16 along a stack of commercial width. Thus, only a small amount of misalignment is permitted, not sufiicientto prevent even a narrow'piie of papers to be pressed down evenly for-cutting. Y

The torque bar 11S extends across the bed of the machine, parallel to the .base 380 of clamp k117. Bar 118 is suitably trunnioned to the frame of the cutting machine.

A pair of arms 381, 381' extends from torque bar 118`. yAl clevis332 extends from each arm 381 to support a roller 333 at pin 334. A frame recess-that coacts with 'vertical roller 383,383 on each side of clamp`117 is provided through plates 385,386 secured together by bolts 387 andverticalplates 385.'` The arms 4381, 381 serves as When the clamp..117. is actuated by the hydraulic cylinder- 119 in the downward direction against astack of V`sheets on the Work bedrof the machine, the clamp 117 is maintained in a vertical plane through the guide bars 395,395. inguides heretofore described. Base 380 of clamp 117 is'maintained in a predetermined relationship. parallel to4 the work bed and-stack through theto'rquef rollers'- described herein. Cross-sectional FIGURE 5 is taken along 'the'line 5+5 through FIGURE 3.vl Shown in dotted line, is the lower position of the clamp 117 with its arm at 331, and roller 383 coacting'with the downwardly moved clamp 117.1,The torque bar 118 remains in ,its fixed position, and it will now be understood that clamp 117 'maintains its predetermined degree of aligni nient `through this means. Y

A narrowV stack is thereupon also pressed down evenly,

in any location across the work bed of `the machinedespite t the fact that a single Vhydraulic cylinder7119 located. in

thecentral portion of the clamp 117 is used. A'feature for guidingoil'that normally leaks from cylinder 119 f across thepiston 119a is provided in the clamp 117. TheA oil istroughed in a. frame 390, and a drainage opening 391 is'at frame 390. Thus, any oil leaking around cylinder 119 or piston 119a is guided into drain 391 and on through a tube 392 to the end 393 opening at clamp guide bar VV395. M The open end 3937of the tube 392 is adjacent a Wider opening 396 in the guide bar 395;V Thus, oil leak- A. i

ing through tube 392 from cylinder 119 is guided to Va guide bar 395 where it runs down into theeoil sump in the main casting. ThisV feature prevents oil leakage on the stack of VsheetsV operated vupon.

VThe level alignment stated for' the front clamp 117, andtheillustration of clamp 117 in FIGURE k3 as horithe vclamp zontal, is for illustration clarity. The invention front (knife) clamping system (117) may be utilized in cutting machines with the work table or stack workbed horizontal. The cutting machine 100 of FIGURES 1 and 2 has a work bed substantially inclined to the horizontal, as set forth hereinabove, and shown in detail in the parent case aforesaid. In such arrangement the knife mechanism 105 and the front clamp assembly 117 are mounted inclined to the horizontal in the same degree as the bed, as indicated in end view, FIGURE 2.

The pressure base 380 of clamp 117 is thereupon oriented to be parallel to the inclined work bed and to the sheet stacks to be operated upon, namely inclined to the horizontal in the machine construction. The wide clamp 117 extends across the whole work bed of the cutting machine 117, and is eectively level with the stack being clamped, regardless of its width or position'across the bed when being cut. The invention clamping system 117 maintains the predetermined built-in angular orientation of the clamp base 380, and insures level clamping and smooth true stack cutting by the blade 116 even in machines with an inclined work bed.

Although this invention has been illustrated in an exemplary form, it is to be understood that modifications thereof are feasible within the broader spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive work table supporting the stack, a frame, a reciprocable knife system with a blade arranged transverse of theV table for successively cutting forward portions of the stack when projected into the knife system, a clamp mounted on said table adjacent said knife system and, means for successively actuating said clamp to grip firmly the forward stack portion during cutting cycles thereof by said blade including mechanism for maintaining said clamp predeterminedly parallel to said work table and stack of sheets during its stack gripping phase, said mechanism comprising a torque bar carried parallel to said clamp and trunnioned to said frame, spaced arms rigidly secured to said bar and having freely rotative rollers at respective free ends, said clamp having respective recesses for said rollers, each recess having a top plate against which the respective roller engages for effecting leveling forces on said clamp to maintain substantial parallelism with said table.

2. In a machine as set forth in claim l, the top plates of said recesses being separate removable pieces.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 326,916 Morse YSept. 22, 1885 758,156 Taylor Q. Apr. 26, 1904 1,261,305 Seybold Apr. 2, 1918 2,430,588 Simmons Nov. 11, 1947 2,506,651 Seybold May 9, 1950 2,681,104 Barney June l5, 1954 

1. IN A MACHINE OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED FOR SUCSESSIVELY CUTTING A STACK OF SHEETS TRANSVERSELY ACROSS A WORK TABLE SUPPORTING THE STACK, A FRAME, A RECIPROCABLE KNIFE SYSTEM WITH A BLADE ARRANGED TRANSVERSE OF THE TABLE FOR SUCCESSIVELY CUTTING FORWARD PORTIONS OF THE STACK WHEN PROJECTED INTO THE KNIFE SYSTEM, A CLAMP MOUNTED ON SAID TABLE ADJACENT SAID KNIFE SYSTEM AND, MEANS FOR SUCCESSIVELY ACTUATING SAID CLAMP TO GRIP FIRMLY THE FORWARD STACK PORTION DURING CUTTING CYCLES THEREOF BY SAID BLADE INCLUDING MECHANISM FOR MAINTAINING SAID CLAMP PREDETERMINEDLY PARALLEL TO SAID WORK TABLE AND SAID STACK OF SHEETS 